When He's Not Here
by MarvellouslyWondrous
Summary: Personally, Piper thought that every drop of effort Annabeth put into planning was just a way for her to not notice the absence of the green eyed boy usually standing next to her.


Author's Note –

Wow, seriously, here's another one. I think I've posted more fics this week than I have in the last few _years._ Awesome :D.

Set after The Lost Hero and before The Son of Neptune, just a chat between Piper and Annabeth.

I say it again; I love this series. Love it.

Disclaimer: Yep, still don't own anything.

Enjoy :D

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Piper McLean was natural loner. She could recognise this easily, having been alienated by her fellow pupils pretty much all her life, getting very little attention at home (something, she prayed, that would change considering recent events). So yeah, she could deal with being alone easily.

She contemplated this as she sat beside the basketball court, watching Jason play with some of the Apollo campers. He was laughing and the sun shone brightly in his hair – he was fitting in perfectly. She thought back to times when she'd started at new schools, when fitting in became the ultimate goal and struggle, like it was the most important thing in the world at the time.

Piper knew that for Jason, well, it pretty much _was_ the most important thing in the world. If he didn't fit in, the campers would never follow him, they would probably end up fighting with the Roman camp and wow, that just left you with a lot of dead demi-gods.

She also knew that she was fitting in, which was pretty much a miracle; she had _friends_ here, siblings even! After a lifetime of her Dad occasionally popping up to sort out her dim educational prospects and Jane blah blah-ing in her ear like a shrew, the fact that she could look around camp now and people would smile at her and talk to her like she_ mattered_, well, that was a new one.

She smiled; it was nice.

Jason jumped high to shoot the ball into the far hoop, and laughed with glee when it landed in easily – some of the Apollo campers on Jason's team cheered for him and happily thumped him on the back. Jason was grinning the whole time. It made her grin too – little moments like this, watching Jason bonding with the people who were supposed to be his enemy, gave her hope for the future.

She frowned slightly, imagining a dark haired, green eyed teen in Jason's place. She hoped Percy Jackson was making similar progress. He would cross her mind every now and then, which she thought was strange considering all she knew about him was what he looked like and what she'd heard from a handful of campfire stories. She'd asked Annabeth about him before, but the usual stoic blonde always looked pained when she asked, like Piper was reminding her that Percy wasn't there.

Thinking of Annabeth, Piper realised she hadn't seen her all day. This in itself wasn't unusual, what with Leo and the Hephestus cabin building the Argo II, the whole camp had been like a whirlwind of planning and mapping and training and building. Annabeth was usually at the head of it all, going between campers and cabins to assess progress and planning for every scenario she could think of.

Whilst everyone was in awe of Annabeth, how tough she was and her determination, Piper (who also highly respected the blonde) really felt sorry for her. When Annabeth was seen to be looking over the Argo II's progress, Piper felt like Annabeth was really assessing one of the tools that would save her boyfriend.

Personally, Piper thought that every drop of effort Annabeth put into planning was just a way for her to not notice the absence of the green eyed boy usually standing next to her.

She stood and brushed the grass off her shorts, leaving Jason to happily beat the Apollo campers (and she was sure he hadn't noticed her anyway, too caught up in just having fun for once).

Making her way to the Big house, hoping Annabeth was in the rec room (and she usually was). Walking in she spied some campers half-heartedly playing ping-pong, but aside from that the room was empty, save for the blonde girl leaning over a table by the fireplace. Walking closer, Piper could see maps haphazardly sprawled over the table, Annabeth sat on a chair and leaning over with her nose close to a map of America.

"Annabeth?"

The daughter of Athena started slightly, turning to look at Piper with her brows furrowed. When her mind caught up with who was addressing her, Annabeth spared Piper a small smile, leaning back in her chair and relaxing a little.

"Hey Piper, what's up?"

Piper shrugged and settled into the chair on the opposite side of the table, propping her chin up on her hand.

"Not much, what all this? Got any new ideas?"

Piper knew Annabeth had been despairingly trying to figure out the location of the Roman camp (and thus, her lost boyfriend), having heard her grill Jason almost daily for any clues he might have. He always had this pained look on his face when she asked, and had later confided in Piper that it was like looking at a really, really blurry picture and trying to figure out what it was. He said all he got from it was a headache.

Annabeth ran a hand through her hair and sighed, frustrated.

"I don't know. I'm looking and looking and I just can't make sense of it. There are a couple of places I think might be... but then I find others. It's driving me crazy."

Piper was sympathetic – she had memories of trying to read Shakespeare just before she'd been diagnosed with dyslexia, she imagined Annabeth felt a little like she had. Lost and frustrated at herself.

"Is there anywhere that's really standing out to you?"

"I, well I keep looking at San Francisco. I just have to believe there was a reason we were always told not to go there... But then, there are hundreds of places that aren't safe for us, so I don't know."

Annabeth slumped back in her chair, rubbing at her tired eyes warily.

"I have a feeling even if we do find the Roman camp, Percy could never sit still anyway."

She huffed out a laugh that sounded both sad and fond.

"Knowing him, we'll find it, get there and he'll have been sent off on a quest half way across the country."

Piper looked at Annabeth steadily and decided to voice her earlier contemplations.

"You miss him, don't you. That's why you're working so hard?"

Annabeth lowered her hand and stared hard at Piper, not unkindly, but as if she were trying to figure out what Piper wanted out of the conversation. The blonde broke their stare first and her eyes drifted to the maps again, as if she could spot Percy racing across one of the States.

"I suppose. Bit of both really. I don't want to notice he's not here and I need to know I did everything I could, exhausted every possibility to get him back."

She smiled wryly at Piper,

"It's the only way I can sleep at night."

Piper shifted, a little uncomfortable, and thought of Jason. Stricken with amnesia and remembered how heartbroken she'd been when she realised Jason didn't really know her at all.

"You don't want to think about the fact that he may not remember you." She proposed softly.

Annabeth's shoulders straightened at that and she looked to Piper sharply, mouth opening to retort. But then she blinked and shrank back, looking slightly stricken when she recognised that Piper wasn't being spiteful, but trying to make her acknowledge the painful truth. Piper watched her swallow painfully, face a mix of emotions. She sent Piper a tight smile.

"To be honest Piper, as long as he's safe and he remembers all the things about himself that make him who he is, then I can deal with anything else. I just hope he knows that even if he can't remember anyone and he feels completely alone, that _someone_ is coming for him, that _someone_ cares."

There was pure pain in Annabeth's eyes and Piper, who had never had any close female friends, felt like giving her a tight hug. She didn't, because as soon as the pain came, it left again and Annabeth looked stern once more.

"Percy's a Seaweed Brain and I'm stubborn as a mule. I'll make him remember."

Piper couldn't help but grin at that, remembering her proclamation in the Aphrodite cabin for all girls to stay away from _her _Jason. It made her feel a little bit proud that she and Annabeth weren't all that different after all.

They fell into a comfortable silence for a while, with Annabeth looking once more at the maps and Piper gazing into the fire. Or at least they did, until Annabeth's face twisted slightly in confusion, she looked up from the map at Piper, who was still staring at the fire.

"Piper?"

Piper dragged her eyes away from the flames.

"Yeah?

Annabeth's brows furrowed slightly again,

"Do you guys even know what Percy looks like?"

Piper raised a brow and nodded.

"Yeah I do, why?"

Annabeth chuckled and pushed the map away from her slightly.

"We're going off to look for him and it never occurred to me to make sure you know him when you see him."

"I saw a photo of you and him on Chiron's wall – dark hair and green eyes right?"

Annabeth smiled a little wistfully at that, making Piper grin impishly,

"He's pretty good looking."

The daughter of Athena levelled her with an amused, but no nonsense stare and, to her credit, didn't even blush (like Piper would have been tempted to, had she been speaking about Jason) when she answered.

"He's gorgeous Piper, but I'm biased. Besides he wasn't always."

It did Piper good to hear Annabeth laugh like this, to have her recall all the things about Percy that made her happy, rather than being reminded of the fact that he was no longer there. Piper crossed her legs in the chair, settled and used the opportunity to enquire,

"Really?"

Annabeth grinned widely and her whole face lit up. There was humour in her voice as she told Piper about their first adventure together, about their first meeting.

"Oh yeah, he was twelve, scrawny and half dead when Chiron dumped him on me to take of him. He drooled in his sleep."

The daughter of Athena's face was soft and fond as she told Piper about how she had been pretty harsh with Percy at the start, seeing him as an opportunity to prove herself and get out of camp for a while. She told her about the big prophecy and how she has once hoped that every new camper would be her golden ticket to prove herself.

At this, Annabeth's smile faded slightly into a frown and she leaned her cheek on her palm in contemplation.

"The prophesised child wasn't a person to me then, they were like an idea. And when Percy showed up I was so excited... it was only when he became my best friend and then my... that I came to hate the prophecy more than anything."

She smiled wryly and a little miserably once more.

"After all, I got excited by something that prophesised the potential death of my future boyfriend."

Piper didn't really know what to say to that, but tried,

"Um, but you were like twelve. You couldn't have known what would happen. And it all turned out okay in the end right?"

Annabeth looked at her calmly, mouth fixed in a firm frown. Piper could tell this was something Annabeth had been secretly battling with for some time, potentially since she began to get closer to Percy Jackson. And even though she knew Annabeth wasn't over it, the teen still shifted and offered Piper an escape from her guilty reflections.

"I know Piper, and I think," She smiled, "that I've more than paid the Seaweed Brain back for my first impressions."

She idly tapped at the pale scar on her arm and Piper frowned, having not noticed that before, but Annabeth didn't offer up any more information, so she decided not to ask. Annabeth looked more content now though than she had since Piper had first met her, seemingly finding comfort in just _talking_ about the boy she loved. Piper could appreciate that. She cleared her throat, willing this conversation to continue and let Annabeth just enjoy remembering Percy.

"So... So how did you two get together?"

Annabeth smiled sheepishly at that,

"Well, it was complicated... it involved bloodshed, a lot of denial on my part and a lot of obliviousness of Percy's part."

Piper grinned and rested her chin on her folded arms, like she was settling down for a good story.

"Oooh, sounds interesting."

Annabeth raised a brow and began to tell her the story of how the campers had defended Olympus against Kronos' approaching armies.

"In the middle of a fight I saw one of our campers, who had switched to Kronos' side, run behind Percy, he was about to stab him in the back and so I intercepted the blow."

She raised her arm and showed Piper the pale scar once more. Piper was thoroughly engaged, listening intently.

"I... I can't explain what happened after that, it's all fragmented," Annabeth frowned and looked off to the side, as if she were searching her memories for clarity, "I just remember coming to and Percy was kneeling over me, he was holding my hand and..."

She clenched her left fist and her eyes narrowed.

"The sun was setting behind him and he just looked... Gods his eyes were just _so_ _green_ and I remember just thinking, wow, I really don't want to look away from those eyes ever."

She laughed, both fond and sad and looked at Piper, who was staring at her intently.

"It sounds silly."

Piper shook her head sharply; although she had never been a girly girl, had never liked chick-flicks or been a big advocator of love and clichés, having met Jason... Having maybe fallen in love with Jason... maybe it was her mother's influence, but she thought Annabeth was anything but silly.

Annabeth lifted her legs onto the chair and rested her chin on her knees. She looked more vulnerable than Piper had ever seen her. She told Piper about Luke, who, before Percy, had been her best friend, her hero and the person she loved most in the world. Told her about how Luke had betrayed her, them, had tried to kill Percy and everyone at camp, had taken advantage of her love for him and forced her to hold up the sky.

Piper had heard stories about Luke, the traitor to Camp Half-Blood who had redeemed himself in the end... Honestly, she didn't hold much respect for traitors, but the fact that Luke had done all that and still managed to do what was right in the end made her think. She listened as Annabeth continued on to tell her about Luke's redemption and death.

" As he lay there, dying, he asked me... he said 'Did you love me?' and for years and years I was convinced I did. I still wasn't sure in fact. But then I looked up and Percy was there and even though Luke was dying at my feet, I just couldn't help but be so, _so_ _happy_ that Percy was still there. The only thing that mattered to me was that he was still there."

She looked at Piper with sad eyes, but with a small and accepting smile.

"I knew that Percy was the one I needed, I realised I didn't love Luke the way I loved Percy. And that's kind of how we got together."

Piper was leaned far forward, eyes wide and intense.

"That was the most dramatic thing I've ever heard."

Both girls looked at each other intently for a moment longer, until Annabeth grinned widely, Piper returning the grin. Annabeth lowered her legs and stretched her arms up.

"All the dramatics aside, when we got back to camp we had the best underwater kiss _ever."_

Piper goggled at her slightly.

"_Underwater_?"

Annabeth grinned and winked, beginning to fold up her maps for the day.

"Son of the Sea God – he has his perks."

Piper watched her gather up her maps, a small smile on her face and once more remembered why they were here. Percy Jackson wasn't here anymore, they were looking for him and Annabeth still missed him.

"We'll find him you know."

Annabeth started and she smiled fondly,

"I hope so Pipes. It just feels good to talk about him for a while – through the stress of looking for him, sometimes I don't let myself remember why I miss him. This – this felt good. Thank you."

Piper smiled back and considered that this was maybe something Annabeth had needed. If Percy Jackson had forgotten who he was, he was going to need Annabeth to remind him. She grinned, it was win:win! Cheer up Annabeth and she had learnt more about Percy Jackson. She was brought out of her contemplations however when she spied Annabeth looking at the sympathetically. She frowned,

"What? Is there something on my face?"

Annabeth's grip tightened around her maps and she shifted uncomfortably.

"Piper, I just, I want you to be prepared if –"

Piper leaned forward, worried. The daughter of Athena bit her lip and collected her thoughts; taking a deep breath, she appeared to steel herself and looked Piper in the eye firmly, but not unkindly.

"I really like you Piper. I hope there's no one like me waiting for Jason in the other camp."

Piper felt the colour drain from her face a little,

"What do you mean?" she asked weakly, her fears regarding Jason rearing their ugly head. Somehow... it felt more painful, more affirming coming from Annabeth's mouth. The blonde looked sympathetic and regretful.

"I... after knowing what it's like being without Percy, I know I'll never let anyone touch him, never let anyone take him away from me again. I just..."

She stood and looked down at Piper with such a look of regret that she almost wanted to cry.

"I hope there's no one in the Roman camp as in love with Jason as I am with Percy. Because if there is Pipes, you've got one hell of a fight on your hands."

Annabeth moved to walk past her, briefly squeezing her shoulder as she passed. Piper clenched her fists and glared down at the table, eyes watering but hard. Her heart ached, but she knew, as a daughter of Aphrodite, that love was tricky business. She thought of Annabeth's face as she looked over the maps, drawn and determined, willing to go to the ends of the Earth for the boy she loved. She remembered Jason on the basketball court, with the sun in his hair and his smile wide and uninhibited. Piper narrowed her eyes.

"Trust me Annabeth, it'll be one fight I _refuse _to lose."


End file.
